Category Archives: Pizza

Burgers, Flash Deals, Pizza, Upper West Side

Big Nick’s

May 25, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

As usual, I nailed a sweet Groupon deal for this pizza … and burger … and everything else you can imagine joint… I think $11 got me $20 worth of food.

The menu here is like a diner; TONS of shit, and you wonder how they can sling it all in such a small kitchen.

We started with a pair of regular pizza slices (not the jumbo sized ones that they offer). It was thick with cheese, crispy and tasty. I’ve had better elsewhere, even at dollar joints, but this was satisfying.

The burger was a standard diner style burger (you order “deluxe” to get lettuce, tomato, pickle and fries) – nothing too fancy. It was juicy and cooked correctly, but a little lacking overall when compared to other burger places that have been popping up and serving some seriously good shit.

Next we tried a cheese dog, which, from the description, we were expecting to be massive. It was a little underwhelming when it came to the table.

It was tasty on it’s own, but we added lettuce and pickle to it, from my burger platter, to jump it up a little.

French fries absolutely need to be hit with a little salt when they come out of the frier, as does any fried item, really. This place must not practice that culinary canon. My fries needed salt badly. At least they were crispy, though. I hate this style of french fry to begin with, so it was a double whammy. But when they are done correctly they can be delicious. Herbs and parmesan cheese would help big time on this kind of steak fry, in my opinion.

On the whole, everything was really just barely average. Maybe if Big Nick decided to focus on one aspect of the menu, instead of being so expansive like a diner, they could excel. Good little neighborhood joint that’s fine as a quick go-to place, but a little overpriced in relation to the quality, especially if you’re not presenting a Groupon.

BIG NICK’S
70 W 71st St
New York, NY 10023

Flash Deals, Midtown West, Pizza

City Slice

May 20, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

This little joint had an Amazon Local deal where we paid something like $10 or $12 for $20 worth of food.

We tried a half margarita and half Italian supreme pie. Here’s what that shit looked like:

The supreme side had peppers, onions, and some thin sliced Italian meats. I wasn’t a fan. I’m generally not a fan of these types of pies in the first place, but my wife tends to like them. I liked the margarita pie better, but I’ve had much better margarita pies at other locations. I also tried a slice of the regular pie, which was honestly no better than any of the dollar slice joints in the area.

CITY SLICE
754 10th Ave
New York, NY 10019

Midtown West, Pizza

Ray’s Pizza

May 5, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Is it just Rays? Original Ray’s? Famous Rays? Or Famous Original Ray’s? You be the judge, because it’s just as confusing now as it was when that episode of Seinfeld aired way back when.

This joint is on 7th Avenue between 53rd and 54th. There are tons of similarly named pizza places around the city, if you’re not aware.

One thing IS for sure though: this place is a total rip off. I paid $8.71 for a plain slice ($3+) and a fresh mozzarella slice ($5).

The regular slice was pretty good – nice sauce, cheese and crust – but was it worth 3X the price of the dollar joint just one block over? No fuckin’ way.

And what about the fresh mozzarella slice? An even bigger rip off. The crust was good enough – crispy and airy, with a good thickness – but the sauce was a bit sweet, and the up charge for this “gourmet slice” was way overboard at $5. Fuck that.

I’m of the opinion that unless you are getting excellent, life-changing pizza, you should never be paying more than $5 or $6 for any two slices on the menu.

RAY’S PIZZA
831 7th Ave
New York, NY 10019

Pizza, Tribeca

Roll & Go

May 3, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Roll & Go opened up in our old neighborhood at the former location of a Subway sandwich shop.

This is by far one of the largest dollar pizza joints around.

Not only is the space large, but so is the menu. I guess you can say this is a restaurant rather than a dollar pizza joint… I mean, look at the selections here. Even rotisserie chicken!

You might think that with all of these choices they wouldn’t have good pizza, since they’re spread too thin into other cuisines, but you’d be wrong. Let me tell you, this was one of the best slices for a buck that I’ve ever eaten.

It was crispy, had some good cheese and sauce on top, and the crust was thicker than cardboard, had some air in it for softness, but still came with that necessary crunch. Total victory here.

ROLL & GO
362 Broadway
New York, NY 10013

Midtown East, Pizza

Pick & Pay

March 15, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

This here is a little dollar pizza joint on Lex near 24th Street. The sauce was a little overly herbed and sweet, but the crust was pretty damn good for a dollar joint. Cheese was fine – just that sauce needed a little work.

PICK & PAY
30 Lexington Ave
New York, 10010

Midtown West, Pizza

2 Bros. Pizza

March 8, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Two Bros. Pizza is a chain category three pizza joint (dollar slices) that has locations all over Manhattan. I recently stopped into the one on 9th Avenue & 40th Street and I was pretty amazed at how good it was for a buck. It was a little thicker in the crust department than I usually like, and not as crisp, but this was a fresh-out-of-the-oven slice, so that might be why. It was the right amount of doughy, it had a good sauce-to-cheese ratio, and it packed good flavor. Definitely stop in.

2 BROS. PIZZA
542 9th Ave
New York, NY 10018

Pizza, West Village

Slice & Co. Pizza

March 2, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Strolled past this little dollar joint and gave their shit a try. It was pretty good. Great crispy crust, thin. Decent cheese and sauce. I think this place is solid but right around the corner is Percy’s, which I think is a little better.

Nice thing about tho splice: $2 draft beers!

SLICE & CO. PIZZA
95 MacDougal St
New York, NY 10012

East Village, Pizza

Joey Pepperoni

February 10, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

This is a no-nonsense category 3 dollar slice joint down on 1st Avenue just below the 14th street L station. Doughy yet crispy crust, quality melty yet crisp cheese, and a good sweet sauce. Fucking hits the spot. I easily put this slice down after a full meal (dessert included) at a nearby French bistro. Great little slice.

JOEY PEPPERONI
222 1st Avenue
New York, NY 10009

Pizza, West Village

Percy’s

February 1, 2015 Johnny Prime 3 Comments

I strolled by this little category 3 dollar pizza joint while I was on my way to grab a burger with a friend. It turns out this was one of the best dollar slices I’ve tried to date. The crust was nice and crispy, and the cheese was of good quality. I only wish there was a bit more sauce on this baby. But I have to say: this place is a much better buy than some of the standard category 2 joints charging upwards of $2.50 for a slice.

They do offer some topping slices for a dollar more.

PERCY’S
190 Bleecker St
New York, NY 10012

Midtown East, Pizza

99¢ Fresh Pizza (5th Ave b/w 32nd & 33rd)

January 25, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Here’s another category 3 joint for yo’ ass. Not a bad slice, but also not the top of the heap for this style. Cheese, sauce and crust all above average but a solid slice at a category 2 joint is still worth the upcharge.